Chances are, if you live in Colorado Springs, you’ve seen Molly McClure’s artwork around. If you’ve driven down Platte Avenue or had a coffee at Urban Steam, you definitely have.
McClure’s vibrant portraits — depicting famous faces including Jimi Hendrix, local heroes such as Fannie Mae Duncan, and everyday people — are popping up all over town.
Most recently, she’s behind colorful pieces adding to the aesthetic of Icons, the new gay piano bar in downtown Colorado Springs. She painted three “gay icons”: Nina Simon, Lady Gaga and the Golden Girls.
McClure, a 33-year-old Colorado native now living in Manitou Springs, wasn’t always being paid for her portraits. And her artwork wasn’t always all over town.
She had long wanted to be an artist, so she went to Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design. Before she got to graduation, though, she dropped out to take on architecture design gigs. She found success working on projects such as an origami ceiling fixture for a Louis Vitton galleria in Houston, a Mormon temple in Utah and an MGM casino in Washington, D.C.
In the back of her mind, she still wanted to do art.
About five years ago, she moved back to Colorado to pursue her dream of working as a painter. But, first, she had to find people to paint.
So she walked around. If she found someone who looked interesting, she’d introduce herself and say, “You look really cool. Can I paint you?”
McClure’s love of portraits goes back to her love of people.
“I think people are amazing. Some people are genuinely striking and I can’t describe it,” McClure said. “It’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, I just need to get to know you.’”
After getting her name out there, McClure didn’t have to go searching for projects. They came to her.
She now creates a mix of family portraits, decor for businesses and murals with the Knob Hill Urban Arts District.
Her vibrant portraits are “somewhere between realistic and not.”
“I want to portray personality and depth,” she said. “I want to capture someone’s power or their beauty.”
With her use of light and color, she also wants people to “almost shine.”
That goes for portraits of friends as well as Fannie Mae Duncan, an entrepreneur and activist for racial equality in Colorado Springs. McClure’s mural of Duncan can be seen on the exterior of Peak Furniture with the words, “Everybody is Welcome.”
McClure has made it a point to paint people, especially women, of color.
“Our communities are very diverse and our art should be diverse,” she said. “If a little girl can look at a mural and think that it looks like her… I think that’s important.”
To view more of her artwork, follow McClure on Instagram: @mollymcclureart.
This content was originally published here.
